Blue Haven Pools

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Quality & Service Issues with Blue Haven Pools

Posted by kmeehan on 01/20/2008

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- BEWARE OF BLUE HAVEN POOLS!!! Once your contract is signed, they will treat you like dirt, not keep you informed of what they're doing, build the pool the way they want it, and give you lower-grade equipment than what you paid for! I strongly recommend you stay away from this company!

In early October 2007, Blue Haven began building an in-ground gunite pool and Sundeck patio on my property in accordance with a contract I signed in April 2007 (I asked for construction to be deferred to October). My contract specified that the pool would be built within 35 days pending any adverse weather, yet the pool wasnât completed until the 2nd week of January 2008 even though there were only 2 days of bad weather that would inhibit construction. Once the contract was signed, Blue Haven didnât care whether it met schedule or not. There were also other numerous and significant issues encountered during the construction process, some of which are identified below:

1. The contractors hired often made changes from the original contract. Although the contract said the superintendent wouldnât âbabysitâ the contractors, the superintendent was rarely present to inspect the work and intentionally avoided being present when I was at the property. When I called the superintendent on his cell phone to ask questions or set a time to meet, nearly all calls went to voice mail and were never returned. I would also send e-mails to the construction scheduler at the Blue Haven office because her voice mail was either full or she wouldnât return calls â I would often get responses several days later, with the responses rarely addressing the issues I raised. One change made by the contractors was the layout of underground plumbing and rebar for the concrete patio. The city inspected the installation that differed from the contract. After the city performed its inspection, the pool company then ripped up a significant portion of the rebar, including grounding wires for the pool equipment, so that they could change the plumbing again, making it even further from the contract requirements. The concrete was then poured. When I argued to have the concrete ripped up and the plumbing repaired, I had to argue with the general manager of the company because no one else would work with me. The general manager did have the plumbing reworked to provide the functionality specified in the contract, but this was done by chipping and patching the concrete rather than removing and replacing the entire slab and rebar.

2. When the pool control panel for the filter system was installed, it had information inside it saying it was compatible with the AquaPod remote. I asked the superintendent how much the AquaPod remote cost -- $450 â so, I agreed to add it. The superintendent wrote a field change to add the remote. When the pool was being filled up with water the first time, the start-up team provided me with a GoldLine âSpa-Sideâ remote rather than the AquaPod. The AquaPod allows the control center to be reprogrammed using the remote, has a digital display that provides outdoor and water temperature readings, and provides several other functions. The Spa-Side remote has only on-off switches for the various equipment. I informed the superintendent and construction scheduler of this issue and was told it wasnât their problem since the pool construction wasnât complete â I was passed on to the warranty department. The warranty department told me that the AquaPod would be âoverkillâ for my pool since I donât have a spa and that the Spa-Side remote is a better remote. When researching the web, I discovered that the Spa-Side remote retails for ~$180 while the AquaPod retails for ~$350. Blue Haven said they would not provide a partial refund for the Spa-Side remote or provide me the AquaPod for the $450 I paid. After extensive complaining, I was eventually told that if I unwired the remote control wireless receiver from the filtration control center and then drove 50 miles to Blue Haven, they would refund my money for the remote. I also asked if this would affect the warranty for the control panel since I was being directed to change the electrical configuration, and I was told this would most likely void the warranty. This issue still hasnât been resolved.

3. I had a waterfall installed with the pool. I was told that when the filter pump system was started for the first time I should expect leaks from the waterfall and that the construction team would come out and fix any leaks or flow issues. Sure enough, when the pool filtration system was started up for the first time, there were leaks all along the back of the waterfall that allowed pool water to flow to the lawn. I did report this to the construction team, but was told that since the filter system had been activated, this was now a warranty issue. I reported the issue to the warranty department and was told this would be resolved. It has now been more than 2 weeks since this issue has been reported and the warranty department has yet to schedule any repairs.

4. I had a deep red flagstone installed for the coping of the pool. Several of the flagstone pieces have started to turn white, almost as if they have been bleached. This occurred just prior to the plaster being installed for the pool, but when it was brought up to the construction team during final walkdown, I was told this was a warranty issue and that theyâd notify the warranty/service department of the issue. This notification never took place. So, when I reported the waterfall issue to the warranty/service department, I brought this issue up as well. I was told it would be resolved, but just like the waterfall issue, it has not been more than 2 weeks since this issue has been reported and the warranty department has yet to schedule any repairs.

5. Unfortunately, I left several hoses distributed around my yard, one at each hose bib installed on a plastic hose reel and each equipped with a trigger spray nozzle. The construction team used these hoses during their construction efforts. During use, the construction team broke all three hose bibs connected to the house such that each of the three hose bibs now has a significant leak. In addition, all three trigger spray mechanisms and all three hose reels were broken. Two of the hoses are still okay, but wonât was cut and is no longer usable. This issue was raised to Blue Haven, but was never resolved. The construction team ended up using its own equipment after this. Replacing the hoses and reels wonât be too expensive (about $100 total), but replacement of the three hose bibs and their backflow preventers is going to cost me about $350. Blue Haven wonât resolve this issue.

6. Blue Haven refused to provide me with product manuals for the various equipment it installed with my pool. I was provided an operational manual for the Viper pool cleaner that was installed, the Spa-Side remote control, and the Aqua digital control panel for the filtration system. However, I was not provided any documentation about the filter system, the pool filter pump, the cleaner booster pump, the Ozonator system, etc. When I inquired about this, I was told once again to speak to the warranty department. The warranty department acknowledged this wasnât there issue and couldnât help me if construction didnât provide the manuals. I was told I could get the manuals online. The problem with getting the manuals online is that all of the equipment is marked with Blue Haven labels even though the equipment was manufactured by other companies. I went to those other companies (e.g., Hayward, which provided the equipment for most of the filtration equipment, UlraPure for the Ozonator), but there is nothing to correlate their manuals/part numbers with the Blue Haven part numbers. These companies have offered to help me if I send them pictures and part number information so that they can try to correlate the Blue Haven labels with their parts. However, I shouldnât have to go through this step.

7. In August 2008, I met with the Blue Haven central office and finalized color selections for the patio deck, pool coping, pool plaster, and pool tile. It turned out that the pool plaster I selected to match the other colors was discontinued, but Blue Haven didnât tell me that (or it seems even checked) until it was time to install the plastering. Therefore, I had to select another color for the plaster â none available went well with the other colors I selected. However, since everything else was already installed, I was stuck and had to pick one of the available choices.

8. During construction, the pool company destroyed a significant portion of my neighborâs front yard. The contract did inform me to get consent from my neighbor to have the fence between our properties taken down so heavy equipment could be taken into my back yard. However, no care was taken by the construction company when working in my front yard, and as a result, the construction team destroyed a significant portion of my neighborâs yard, plus one of the concrete sidewalk slabs in front of my neighborâs house. (A slab in front of my house was also broken.) The pool company repaired the concrete sidewalk, but refused to repair the neighborâs yard.

9. About 2 weeks after the pool was filled and the filtration system activated, the pump system started to fail. It would run for about 10 seconds and then trip off. (This happened two days before my submittal of this compliant.) I left messages and e-mails with the pool service/warranty department, but havenât heard anything back yet. Granted, itâs a weekend, and Iâm discovering that the warranty/service department wonât respond over the weekend. Unfortunately, temperatures are going to drop below freezing over the weekend, and my filtration system wonât work, which means any water in the filter pump and filter cartridges could freeze, thereby causing even more damage to the system. It will be interesting to see how Blue Haven responds to this â Iâm sure I will be held at fault for letting the system freeze even though the system failed less than 2 weeks after start up and theyâre not around to fix it.

10. While there is nothing in the pool contract to indicate that the pool company will repair the yard damage caused by the construction, the condition my yard was left in was unacceptable. The pool company did fill in trenches that were dug for electrical and plumbing, but rather than compress the fill, the pool company dropped clay everywhere the sod was damaged. Grass canât grow in the clay, and every time it rains, the clay turns to mud and runs into the cul-de-sac and blocks water flow in front all of my neighbors yards. This was true throughout the entire construction process, yet the pool company wouldnât clean up any of the clay that ran into the streets and blocked drainage flow. Now that the pool has recently been completed, my entire yard around the pool is literally a mud swamp. What makes this worse is that the pool company didnât perform any grading of my yard, especially where it increased the height of my yard with dirt piles, so all of this flows right into the pool. I was able to knock all of this down when the pool company refused to, but initial estimates to remove all of the clay and repair the yard damage caused by the pool company are on the order of $2500.

11. As part of the pool contract, I was to be provided $500 in reward certificates to use toward purchasing pool items from the Blue Haven rewards catalog. I have yet to receive these reward certificates even though Iâve been told several times they should have been mailed to me already. In addition, Iâve discovered that the prices listed in the rewards catalog are significantly higher than the prices listed on the Blue Haven website for the identical products. When I called the rewards catalog to ask if I could use my rewards certificates (when received) to get items for the same price as listed on the Blue Haven website, I was told no. It was explained to me that higher prices are charged when using reward certificates than when using cash/credit/check. As a result, Iâm not really going to get $500 worth of merchandise because of the inflated prices associated with the rewards programs.

12. Finally, as a general complaint, dealing with Blue Haven personnel felt like I was dealing with a bunch of crooks. The sales team was as nice as could be until the minute the contract was signed â after that, youâre treated like a number. Phone calls went unreturned by the superintendent, the construction scheduler, and general office management. Complaints were never addressed â I was told several times that I shouldnât be upset because my e-mails were responded to, yet no one seemed to care that the e-mails didnât respond to the issues I raised and the issues were resolved, if at all, only after extensive argument and only after arguing with the general office manager. This company

These are just some of the issues. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!! It may be the biggest, but it knows that and as a result treats you like a little person. I wouldnât recommend this company to anyone!!!

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Thinking Of Building A New Pool? Read This Before You Do It And Save Some $$$

Posted by picasa on 04/30/2009

Are you thinking on building a new pool? Well, do you homework right before sign any contracts. Be careful with âBlue Haven Poolsâ they said to you that you are contracting and experienced, reputable, dependable and long-standing company and it is false and misleading. Blue haven licenses its brand name to pool contractor without requiring them to construct pools to minimum standards. The truth is that there has never been any single company operating under the name "Blue Haven" in any state since 1954 and that none of the companies operating under the name "Blue Haven" have been in business since 1954, are not "national" companies and do not have 250,000 satisfied customers coast to coast.
Here is a little description of my experience with Blue Haven, hopefully it will open your eyes.

I built a pool with Blue Haven TN. I have problems from the beginning.
They started building on June 07 and finish at the end of November 07. They have to redo the stamped concrete around the pool because the first time was not made right. Blue Haven did not push the subcontractor to do it; it was only done because my husband and I handle the situation with the subcontractor directly.
Then, we noticed that we were losing water and finally we found a crack on the shell, emptied the pool and fixed it (after long argument with Blue Haven) but we always had problems with the pump making terrible noises that even the neighbors complaint about it. It looses pressure all the time. They changed the Hayward motor and replaced with another one (I found today that they replaced it with something else a cheap brand so Hayward does not cover their warranty now). They also installed the ozonator on the wrong place making the filter fill with air. We still have a lot of problems...to many to describe.

They worst is that the office in Knoxville, TN is close after only one year on business and Blue Haven National do not want to be responsible for the problem. I call the 1-800 customer service and Ms. Ellen which number is 972-316-8662 provided me with the worst customer service I have to deal in my life, treating it me like crap. She said that it is not their problem. She does not want me to call her anymore or give me any number or names or other people in Blue Haven that can help me to solve all this problems. I spent $70,000 on my pool to be treated poorly and they washed their hands simple like that. I decided to build with Blue Haven and not with a local company thinking that they will take care of problems like this, for their #1 ranking and their reputation (that's what I thought them).

I know that I can not do anything about it only advise other people about this company and their terrible business model.

Please read all the complaint about Blue Haven posted on the internet. Google âBlue Haven complaintsâ for a large list of them or go directly to:

23306 I-45 NORTH, SPRING, TEXAS -- After visiting with three pool companies for bidding, Blue Haven (Spring) without a doubt, was the best prepared. From the start, our BH sales representative, Randy, was relaxed, really listened to us, absolutely no pressure, and was extremely knowledgeable about CAD and products Blue Haven offers. It took a couple of hours but Randy helped bring our vision into reality and built the pool we've always dreamed about. From the extra patio we poured, configuring seating, to the colored plaster work, he took his time getting it right.

I must admit, I do my homework when comes to making these types of decisions, even read all the negative internet postings about poor service, product warranty, engineering issues etc. but, nevertheless, felt good about Randy and Dora, the construction coordinator. Regardless of how other customers have been treated after the sale, we have had nothing less than a pleasant experience. To give you a glimpse of our experience, we’re providing a couple of examples.

The last step before construction, Dora and Randy called us to come into their showroom to select our color schemes. During contract signing, we had selected a coping product. When I arrived to the showroom, they informed me that prices for tumbled marble, instead of what we selected, had just been drastically reduced by their supplier and had passed the saving onto us when they didn’t have too. In reality, we really wanted tumbled marble to begin with and would have paid more if asked too. We were under contract and they still allowed us to change to the superior product at no extra charge!

We built our pool a week before Hurricane IKE hit Houston. Dora scheduled the permitting, excavation, and gunite installation during the week prior to IKE like clockwork. She kept us informed about crew’s arrival, construction steps, and most importantly, did everything we asked about preserving our yard the best way possible. Nothing happened without checking with us first on days etc. and we didn’t even request this.

Now for an excellent example of what customer service is all about. At 6:00 pm, Aug 25, 09, I called BH, Dora; left her a voice message about our primary feed pump humming but wasn’t moving any water. I informed her that for safety reasons, I had shut off the service breaker. The very NEXT day by 3:30 pm, a BH service technician called and said he just left our home and had finished correcting the problem by installing a brand new pump. I don't know how much better warranty service can get beyond that!

In short, the folks at Blue Haven Pools in Spring, Texas, are good people to work with and trust to do the job right. I can't say enough about how good we've been treated by the Blue Haven Team. Since we built our pool, they have definitely proven they stand behind their product.

A very satisfied, and now loyal, BH pool customer.

Paul

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Swimming Pool from Hell

Posted by DDL on 07/31/2006

GLENDALE, ARIZONA -- We signed a contract with Blue Haven Pools for the construction of a swimming pool on 3/31/2006. As of 7/31/2006 we have a hole in our backyard - that's it. Blue Haven represented to us that construction would begin 30 days from the date the contract was signed. That is to say permits would be pulled and excavation completed. By contract the pool would be completed 60 working days from excavation.

This company sends you a pile of useless information about service, your construction super and coordinators that are supposed to keep you fully informed.

We have gone through three construction supers, 3 coordinators and 1 general manager. THEY NEVER CALL YOU. YOU MUST CALL THEM DAILY TO FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON AND THEN WHAT THEY TELL YOU SELDOM HAPPENS. Totally unresponsive is not even a good discription of their service. They do not return phone calls if you leave a message. According to their corporate office in Texas, consumer affairs, they are supposed to respond within 24 hours of calling the National Hotline. That never happened either. The national hotline did not return my phone calls.

The pool was not laid out and dug according to the original drawing. The pool is two feet wider than it is supposed to be and one of the bench seats is missing at one end of the pool.

The subcontractors that they use for plumbing were complete idiots. They spent most of their time sitting under a tree. I had to loan them my hacksaw and a pair of pliers. The plumbing was not according to specs, the pipes leaked and as of this date one pump installed is not even on the pad correctly.

The only way to get results or information is to go to their offices and start screaming and yelling at the top of your lungs.

My advice for anyone considering a new swimming pool for their backyard is to get a firm commitment date for the start and finish and a penalty clause for everyday they are late. I didn't and now my attorney will have to !

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Another Blue Haven pool from Hell

Posted by seekingjustice on 05/08/2007

SURPRISE, ARIZONA -- We contracted to have a pool built by blue haven May 5, 2005 with a 30 day completion contract beginning after excavation. The pool supposed to be completed July 25th 2005 needless to say that may 8th 2007 it still isn't done. First it wasn't built to specs. the depth was wrong,the bench size was wrong.The idiots they sent out to do the brick coping spent more time dancing and waving at me through the window then they did paying attention to what they were doing the bricks were going every which way it was horrible.We opted for the bubbler pot and laminars when those were installed the super told them to pull the fiber optic wiring out of conduit and then they poured the decking over it then when had problems with the fiber optics not working properly but they couldn't get to it because it was buried under cement. They don't return phone calls and they lie.Finally in May of 2006 they finally filled our pool as the water began to fill the pool the plaster began cracking 5 days later the pool equipment quit working the water turned green because blue haven wouldn't come out and fix it.Few months later because of all the cracks they drained the pool they polished and buffed the surface and told me the remaining cracks would swell up and fill themselves in. Then the automatic fill quit working and that's when we realized the pool had been leaking since May of 2006 so they had to drain it again and chip out our plaster this was in January of 2007 the leak we were told by there plumber was in the direction under our house around the perimeter of the pool we had a sink hole that was filled with water until they drained the pool now we have the possibility of having a sink hole under our house and possibly subterranean termites and pool have said that wasn't there problem we have contacted the R.O.C. 3 TIMES AND ARE WAITING FOR A COURT DATE.THE R.O.C. CAN AWARD THEM MORE TIME TO WORK ON A POOL THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE 2 YEARS AGO. WE HAVE CONTACTED AN ATTORNEY.